Franchise history Washington Mystics

1 franchise history

1.1 1 of first, 1 of worst (1998–2004)
1.2 changes in organization (2005–2007)
1.3 @ bottom yet again (2008)
1.4 changes, part 2 (2009–2012)
1.5 rebuilding, bright future (2013–2016)
1.6 delle donne era (2017–present)
1.7 uniforms

franchise history
one of first, 1 of worst (1998–2004)

logo 1998-2010

the washington mystics 1 of first wnba expansion franchises established. in 1998, first season, finished wnba worst 3-27 record, despite being led olympian nikki mccray. although did not make playoffs year, team had high expectations after drafting university of tennessee star chamique holdsclaw in 1999. washington improved, again failed make playoffs finished 12-20 record. holdsclaw lead team playoffs in 2000, making playoffs record of 14-18, losing new york liberty in first round sweep.

after being tied worst record in wnba in 2001 10-22 record, coach tom maher , general manager melissa mcferrin both resigned. future of franchise in air, mystics assistant coach marianne stanley took on head coach. duo of holdsclaw , rookie guard stacey dales-schuman, mystics made playoffs in 2002 17-15 record. sweep charlotte sting in first round, lose new york again in eastern conference finals 2 games 1. in 2003, mystics make franchise second worst record in franchise history 9-25 record, last in eastern conference.

rumors of holdsclaw being unhappy playing in washington came head in 2004 when mystics star sidelined unspecified ailment, later revealed bout depression. all-star out, rookie , duke university standout alana beard led depleted mystics team surprising playoff appearance, third in mystics history. finished 2004 season @ 17-17, lost in first round connecticut sun in 3 games.

changes in organization (2005–2007)

the 2005 season saw deep changes in mystics organization. former star holdsclaw joined los angeles sparks , team sold washington sports , entertainment lincoln holdings llc, led ted leonsis. in 2005, team finished regular season record of 16-18 , failed make playoffs.

in 2006, mystics posted 18-16 record thriving under star guard alana beard drafted in 2004. mystics entered playoffs 4th seed. in first round, washington swept connecticut sun, first-seeded team in east.

the mystics finished 16-18 record in 2007. in more competitive conference, team satisfied near-.500 finish. however, @ end of season, mystics had identical record new york liberty. since liberty won regular season series against mystics, washington lost tiebreaker , eliminated playoff contention.

at bottom yet again (2008)

crystal langhorne

in 2008, mystics looked build on near-playoff appearance in tough eastern conference. drafted crystal langhorne of maryland 6th pick in 2008 wnba draft. plagues again coaches problems, mystics fell bottom of east again, finishing in front of expansion atlanta team. mystics had gone through 10 coaches in 11 years of existence, in wnba. mystics front office knew needed clean out entire coaching , management staff.

changes, part 2 (2009–2012)

during 2008/2009 wnba off-season, mystics released general manager linda hargrove (replaced angela taylor) , interim coach jessie kenlaw (replaced julie plank). under new general manager, underperforming players waived new players signed. second pick in houston dispersal draft , 2009 wnba draft, mystics selected matee ajavon , marissa coleman, respectively. mystics hoped take advantage of team changes , find consistency in play.

by time season began, mystics surprisingly started 3-0. went 13-18 since first 3 games, 16-18 record enough reach playoffs. however, in playoff comeback, eventual conference champion indiana fever washington handle , mystics swept in first round.

the mystics had best season ever in 2010. led lindsey harding, katie smith, , crystal langhorne, mystics took first place in east record of 22-12. however, despite holding 3-1 edge in regular season games, swept in first round, including 24-point blowout in elimination game, eventual wnba finals runner-up, atlanta dream.

prior 2011 season, mystics made many controversial changes. coming off best season in franchise history, many had hoped team see consistency; not case. general manager angela taylor not reach agreement on new contract , after head coach julie plank refused request handle both coach , gm duties reported cost cutting measure, mystics assistant coach trudi lacey named both positions. when asked if departure of plank , taylor 1 of mistakes said had learned @ 2012 wnba draft lottery, mystics owner sheila johnson said couldn t discuss matter, citing ongoing human resource issues . after coach/gm change harding , smith both demanded trades specific teams granted (to atlanta , seattle, respectively). in addition, starting small forward monique currie tore acl while playing in europe in january , lost of wnba season. result of off-season turmoil, mystics record in 2011 fell 6-28 22-12 year before.

after worse season in 2012 (5-29), trudi lacey fired mystics coach , gm. although having best odds of 4 teams involved in lottery held on september 26, 2012 2013 wnba draft, mystics ended 4th pick, missing out on drafting 1 of 3 highly touted players available in 2013 wnba draft; brittney griner, elena delle donne , skylar diggins.

rebuilding, bright future (2013–2016)

despite missing out on top 3 draft pick, mystics remained positive , continued rebuilding phase while adding young talent future potential roster. prior 2013 wnba season, mystics drafted tayler hill , emma meesseman in 2013 wnba draft. after firing of trudi lacey, mystics hired mike thibault new head coach , gm.

in 2013 wnba season, mystics 17-17 , made playoffs losing in first round.

prior 2014 wnba season, mystics drafted bria hartley , stefanie dolson in 2014 wnba draft. in 2014 wnba season, meesseman became starting center mystics. finished 16-18 , made playoffs lost in first round yet again.

in 2015 wnba season mystics made change in starting line-up putting dolson @ center , meesseman @ power forward. big-women duo have breakout seasons both selected 2015 wnba all-star game. later on in season, mystics finished 18-16 , made playoffs, once again first round exit.

going 2016 wnba season, mystics kept acquiring , developing young talent. drafted kahleah copper in 2016 wnba draft , put hill in starting line-up. hill have breakout season, leading mystics in scoring career-high 15.4 ppg , second place in voting wnba improved player award. mystics unfortunately not make playoffs, finishing disappointing 13-21 record showed signs of promise in future. meesseman continued improve after breakout season, averaging career-high 15.2 ppg. on september 7, 2016, mystics scored franchise record of 118 points along 16 3 pointers (another franchise record) in 118-81 victory on chicago sky.

on september 28, 2016, won second overall pick in 2017 wnba draft.

the delle donne era (2017–present)

during 2016–17 off-season, mystics busy in trade market. enough trade assets, determined make trade superstar player. first, on january 30, team executed three-way deal new york liberty , seattle storm, sending bria hartley , kia vaughn liberty , receiving storm s #6 pick in 2017 draft. proved prelude larger deal freed cap space land superstar on team. officially announced on february 2, mystics traded kahleah copper, stefanie dolson , second overall pick in 2017 wnba draft chicago sky in exchange 2015 league mvp elena delle donne. during off-season in free agency sign three-point specialist kristi toliver (who had won championship los angeles sparks in previous season), upgrading roster championship contender. however, meesseman missing games due overseas commitment, , tayler hill out torn acl midway through season, mystics number 6 seed in league 18-16 record. mystics defeated dallas wings 86-76 in first round elimination game. in second round elimination game, mystics defeated new york liberty 82-68, advancing past second round first time in franchise history, coming off record-setting performance toliver, drained 9 three-pointers in win. in semi-finals, mystics defeated minnesota lynx in 3-game sweep, go on win 2017 wnba championship.

uniforms

1998–2010: white black , gold outlines @ home, dark blue black , gold outlines on road.
2011–2012: white red , blue outlines @ home, red white , blue outlines on road. both jerseys display inova health system name on front.
2013–2014: new number font introduced; inova retained jersey sponsor.
2015–present: inova sponsorship expires, , team name (home jerseys) , city name (road jerseys) return.
2016: part of league-wide initiative 20th season, games featured all-color uniform matchups. mystics retired white uniform season in favor of red jersey, while retaining blue jersey dark-colored uniform.




^ mystics: lincoln holdings purchases mystics . retrieved 29 july 2016. 
^ kent, milton (2010-11-01). mystics coach julie plank let go; trudi lacey takes on . aol. archived original on 2012-05-04. retrieved 2012-10-02. 
^ hays, graham (2012-09-27). huge disapppointment mystics . retrieved 2012-10-02. 
^ peay, carla (2012-09-14). mystics fall dream, 82-74, 10th loss in row . washington times. retrieved 2012-10-02. 
^ parham, nate (2011-04-13). lindsey harding gets trade atlanta dream: how did washington mystics fare? . sbnation/swishappeal. retrieved 2012-10-02. 
^ parham, nate (2011-04-30). washington mystics fill need little leverage in three-way trade seattle storm, indiana fever . sbnation/swishappeal. retrieved 2012-10-02. 
^ pelton, kevin (2011-06-01). 2011 preview: key addition . wnba. retrieved 2012-10-02. 
^ yanda, steve (2011-08-31). monique currie return acl injury thursday . washington post. retrieved 2012-10-03. 
^ peay, carla (2012-09-24). mystics fire coach-general manager trudi lacey . washington times. retrieved 2012-10-03. 
^ mercury top pick in 2013 draft . espn. 2012-09-26. retrieved 2012-10-03. 
^ mystics wnba 2013 season . wnba.com. retrieved september 18, 2016. 
^ mystics wnba 2014 season . wnba.com. retrieved september 17, 2016. 
^ mystics wnba 2015 season . wnba.com. retrieved september 14, 2016. 
^ lee, albert (september 7, 2016). washington mystics make 2 franchise records: 1 in points per game , 1 in 3 pointers . bullets forever. retrieved september 10, 2016. 
^ lee, albert (september 30, 2016). mystics win second draft pick in wnba draft . bulletsforever. retrieved september 30, 2016. 
^ voepel, mechelle (january 31, 2017). how can mystics elena delle donne? . espnw. retrieved february 1, 2017. 
^ chicago trades elena delle donne no. 2 overall pick, 2 players . espn.com. february 2, 2017. retrieved february 2, 2017. 
^ mystics sign all-star kristi toliver part of plan build warriors-like superteam
^ mystics: mystics introduce new gm/head coach trudi lacey , unveil new team logo . wnba.com. 2010-12-02. retrieved 2013-03-22.